State Sen. Fasano targets pill mills with new legislation

Interest is intensifying in toxicology reports from the autopsy of singer Michael Jackson to reveal if a prescription drug overdose was a factor in his June 25 death.

The high-profile case might shed some publicity on a new Florida tracking system to monitor for possible abuse of prescription drugs, particularly by "pill mills," officials say.

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, had worked six years on the legislation.

Oddly enough, the law to create the tracking system was signed by Gov. Charlie Crist on June 18, only one week before Jackson's death.

"It makes the case for the drug bill," Greg Giordano, Fasano's chief legislative assistant, said about Jackson's reported use of powerful prescription drugs.

The database will focus primarily on addictive drugs with the highest potential for dependence.

Statistics from the Florida Medical Examiner's report released last month are rather startling.

Deaths from the painkiller oxycodone increased significantly statewide in 2008. In drug overdose cases, only heroin and methadone were more lethal than products with oxycodone. Overdoses with oxycodone were fatal nearly 60 percent of the time.

Oxycodone accounted for the highest number of drug deaths in Florida in 2008, with 941. Misuse of alprazolam, contained in tranquilizers such as Xanax, led to 705 deaths.

Law enforcement agencies have been "highly supportive" of the drug monitoring bill, Giordano added.

Most pain management clinics are legitimate and registered, Giordano explained. But those pain clinics not already registered with the Florida Department of Health will have to sign up and submit to inspections.

"A lot of these pill mills aren't regulated until now," Giordano commented.

The new law will help close a loophole, Giordano observed. People paying cash to bypass medical plans are the target of this monitoring bill.

The other thrust of the bill is to prevent "doctor shopping," in which patients use multiple prescriptions to trick doctors. Doctor shopping is a third-degree felony.

It will take 18 months before the tracking system is up and running.

The state budget contains money for a task force to set up the database. A nonprofit group called a direct support organization will raise funds to help pay expenses.

Doctors and pharmacies will be required to send updates to the statewide database at least every 15 days.

Insurance companies already can track prescriptions, Giordano noted. "They're going to know everything you take."

Florida had gained a reputation as the nation's drug supermarket.

The death rate from the misuse of legal drugs here is three times the death rate attributed to illegal drugs, according to statistics from the medical examiners' report.